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The Send test email tool lets you preview any of the Key Dates automation emails before they go out to your church. It sends a real email to an address you choose, filled in with sample birthday and anniversary names, so you can check the wording, layout and formatting look right — without waiting for a real birthday or anniversary to come around.
Finding the tool
Go to the Key dates tab and open Send test email. You’ll see a short form with an email address field and a dropdown to choose which automation to test.
Sending a test
Enter the address you’d like the test sent to in Send test email to — usually your own — then pick the email you want to preview from Which automation:
- Individual Happy Birthday — the email sent to a person on their birthday.
- Global Happy Birthday — the daily digest of birthdays sent to a nominated person or team.
- Individual Happy Anniversary — the email sent to a couple on their wedding anniversary.
- Global Happy Anniversaries — the daily digest of anniversaries.
- Global Anniversaries & birthdays — the combined daily digest of both.
Click Send test email and the message is sent straight away. You’ll see a “Test message sent” confirmation, then check the inbox of the address you used.
What’s in the test
The test uses the template you’ve already set up for that automation, with placeholder details swapped in so you can see the finished result — sample names like John and Jane Doe, a sample date, age and years, and example contact details. The digest emails include a sample table of names, so you can see how the birthday or anniversary list will be formatted.
Because it uses your real template, this is the quickest way to spot a wording tweak, a merge tag that isn’t quite right, or a formatting issue before the email reaches your whole church.
If nothing arrives
A couple of things to check if the test doesn’t come through:
- Set the template up first. Each automation needs its template saved before it can be tested — if you haven’t set one up yet, the tool will tell you there’s no template, so save that first.
- Check your email delivery. If the confirmation says the test was sent but nothing arrives, the issue is usually general email delivery rather than this tool — see Help, I’m not getting emails from the plugin.